CNN has begun streaming live TV news to the Web via a new online service, and has issued iPhone, iPod touch and iPad apps that let you enjoy video stories as they break on mobile devices.

Free coverage from CNN and Headline News can be accessed immediately by computer, laptop, smartphone and tablet PC users directly from the network’s homepage, or via the downloadable applications. In order to view Internet feeds though, you’ll need to subscribe to a home cable TV package that offers access to the network, including packages offered by AT&T, Comcast, Verizon, Suddenlink or Dish Network.

Users can login via CNN’s homepage or app to view the streams, which the network is offering in digital format along with options to pause, forward or rewind programs on-demand. Feeds will mirror those shown on the TV networks, as programs will be simulcast live on television and online.

Whether these moves, part of parent company Time Warner’s plans to make a broader range of paid TV options available on the go, can recapture cable television audiences’ attention remains uncertain though. Facing increasing competition from streaming video services, mobile devices and video game consoles, television programming and distribution firms have been hard-pressed to keep eyeballs from shifting to alternate screens in recent years.